Man who shot self in Santa Rosa's Galvin Park dies

February 22, 2013, 1:16PM

02/22/2013

A Santa Rosa investment adviser and one-time trustee for the Bennett Valley Union School District died Thursday night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Glen Huntsberger, 62, succumbed a day and a half after he called police from the baseball field at Galvin Community Park and told them what he planned to do, authorities said.

Police and firefighters rushed to the scene, but arrived too late to change his mind.

Huntsberger shot himself in the head shortly after noon Wednesday at the park, a short walk through the Bennett Valley Golf Course from his home in the Annadel Heights area of Bennett Valley. He died at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital at 9:40 p.m. Thursday, the Sonoma County Coroner's Office said.

A proud Stanford alumnus who loved the Giants and sports in general, Huntsberger is survived by his wife, Diana Huntsberger, and children Rachel and Matt.

He was remembered as a warm, welcoming, upbeat man.

"When you went to his home, he greeted you with open arms and a real friendly fashion," longtime family friend Kent Swisher sad. "He loved his kids and family."

Huntsberger worked as stockbroker and certified public accountant whose frequent letters to the editor of The Press Democrat touched on topics from sports to presidential policy.

He was an avid fan of the now defunct Sonoma County Crushers baseball team, a registered Republican who deplored divisive politics, a man with opinions on steroids in baseball, treatment of prisoners in the war on terror, the legal drinking age and local schools.

Appointed to the Bennett Valley Union School District in 1993 after serving as chairman of the district's budget advisory committee, Huntsberger later won election to full term on the board and served until 1998.

It was a turbulent time for the district, with shrinking enrollment and funding, state intervention in budgetary matters and parent divisions over the closure of an elementary school. But Huntsberger showed leadership and a willingness to compromise, along with other board members, to bring the district through the turmoil, recalled Superintendent Susan Field.

"He was a good team person, and he was a very supportive person, and he was a person that had a positive energy," Field said Friday. "He cared about things. He wanted to make a difference."

Family members did not return phone calls seeking comment, and it was not clear what, if any, events might have motivated Huntsberger's recent actions.

When police found him injured, Huntsberger had papers in his possession indicating he planned his death and directing authorities to the right people to call when it was over, police Sgt. Clay Van Artsdalen said.

A Santa Rosa investment adviser and one-time trustee for the Bennett Valley Union School District died Thursday night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Glen Huntsberger, 62, succumbed a day and a half after he called police from the baseball field at Galvin Community Park and told them what he planned to do, authorities said.

Police and firefighters rushed to the scene, but arrived too late to change his mind.

Huntsberger shot himself in the head shortly after noon Wednesday at the park, a short walk through the Bennett Valley Golf Course from his home in the Annadel Heights area of Bennett Valley. He died at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital at 9:40 p.m. Thursday, the Sonoma County Coroner's Office said.

A proud Stanford alumnus who loved the Giants and sports in general, Huntsberger is survived by his wife, Diana Huntsberger, and children Rachel and Matt.

He was remembered as a warm, welcoming, upbeat man.

"When you went to his home, he greeted you with open arms and a real friendly fashion," longtime family friend Kent Swisher sad. "He loved his kids and family."

Huntsberger worked as stockbroker and certified public accountant whose frequent letters to the editor of The Press Democrat touched on topics from sports to presidential policy.

He was an avid fan of the now defunct Sonoma County Crushers baseball team, a registered Republican who deplored divisive politics, a man with opinions on steroids in baseball, treatment of prisoners in the war on terror, the legal drinking age and local schools.

Appointed to the Bennett Valley Union School District in 1993 after serving as chairman of the district's budget advisory committee, Huntsberger later won election to full term on the board and served until 1998.

It was a turbulent time for the district, with shrinking enrollment and funding, state intervention in budgetary matters and parent divisions over the closure of an elementary school. But Huntsberger showed leadership and a willingness to compromise, along with other board members, to bring the district through the turmoil, recalled Superintendent Susan Field.

"He was a good team person, and he was a very supportive person, and he was a person that had a positive energy," Field said Friday. "He cared about things. He wanted to make a difference."

Family members did not return phone calls seeking comment, and it was not clear what, if any, events might have motivated Huntsberger's recent actions.

When police found him injured, Huntsberger had papers in his possession indicating he planned his death and directing authorities to the right people to call when it was over, police Sgt. Clay Van Artsdalen said.